Huguette Clark, Reclusive Copper Heiress, Left $34 Million To Nurse

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The controversy surrounding what will happen to the vast fortune left in the wake of the death of copper heiress Huguette Clark seems to be just getting warmed up.

Clark, who died in May at the age of 104, left a somewhat surprising will behind, cutting out friends and family and leaving $34 million to her nurse. According to MSNBC, she also left about $17 million to her accountant and attorney through fees and other bequests.

The accountant and attorney are both under investigation, and have had to account for all the transactions they've made since they took over legal power of attorney for the heiress in 1996. According to MSNBC, the investigation is the result of an incredible $1 million-a-month spending pattern for a woman who never left the hospital. Remarkably, in the course of one day, the pair apparently wrote $380,000 in checks from Clark's personal account.

The astounding sum left to her nurse, Hadassah Peri, has also raised eyebrows. The New York Post detailed just how she took care of Clark until her death, and the tremendous affection she showed the heiress.

But that's not all. the New York Post also reports that Peri, a mother of three, lives in a swanky Manhattan Beach home with a swan-filled canal, and even has a $500,000 beach house on the Jersey Shore. Those are just two of the five homes she owns.

In the wake of Clark's death, many have been questioning the gifts bestowed upon Peri, though investigations have largely focused on the accountant and lawyer. If the will is upheld (and it is being challenged by Clark family members), Peri will receive the full $34 million.